原网址：
https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2019-11-23/lakers-alex-caruso-
mural-lebron-james-kawhi-leonard
缩网址：https://reurl.cc/247NOv
Column: How Alex Caruso played his way off the Lakers’ bench and into a
mural near LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard
专栏：卡秃是如何从板凳打到变成可以被画在詹皇跟可爱旁边的壁画
Near the corner of Melrose and Fairfax is a collection of photography and
street art that pays homage to some of the city’s best NBA players. There’s
a wall of pictures featuring Kawhi Leonard. Not far away is #MambaOnMelrose,
a mural of Kobe Bryant made up of 413 triangles to represent April 13, the
date of his last game. And half a block away, in a midsize parking lot facing
Fairfax High, Alex Caruso is dunking on James Harden and a few other Western
Conference foes.
在Melrose & Fairfax市场的一角，有一堆向这个城市最棒的NBA球星致敬的摄影作品及街
头艺术聚集在这。那里有一整面墙上都是Kawhi Leonard，不远处则是#MambaOnMelrose，
一幅用了413个三角形所构成的Kobe壁画，413代表4月13，Kobe退休战的那一天。再走过
半个街区，一个在Fairfax高中对面的中型停车场，Alex Caruso在James Harden还有一些
其他西区对手的头上灌篮。
https://i.imgur.com/sNBXYvF.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qhbz7DG.jpg
The only thing more surprising than seeing a mural of an undrafted role
player, who graduated from college averaging eight points a game, is seeing
Harden’s defense immortalized. This is the same wall, mind you, that
famously featured the mural of LeBron James looking up to Kobe, Shaq, Magic,
Kareem and Wilt.
All of those greats have rings.
一个在大学场均只有8分、没有在选秀会上被挑中的绿叶球员被画成了一幅壁画，唯一一
件比看见这幅壁画还要令人惊喜的事是，胡子的防守也在这面墙上得到了永生。(咦???)
提醒你，同一面墙上还有一幅著名的壁画，上面画著LeBron仰望着Kobe、Shaq、Magic、
Kareem还有 Wilt。
https://i.imgur.com/W5L8Uud.jpg
上面这些伟大的家伙，都拿过冠军戒指。
Leonard has rings.
可爱也有一枚。
Caruso has yet to log a total of 82 games in three years.
而卡秃目前在三年内总共才只打了82场比赛。
He’s not supposed to be here. And for Gustavo Zermeño, the artist who did
both the Caruso mural and those of the aforementioned Lakers greats, that is
precisely the point.
他不应该出现在这里的。不过对于Gustavo Zermeño，那位画了卡秃以及前面所提到那些
先贤壁画的艺术家来说，这恰恰是为什么卡秃能出现在这上面的原因
“I had him dunking on the best players in the west because we’re number one
right now, plus it shows that you don’t necessarily need to be getting paid
out to be recognized for what you bring to a team,” Zermeño said. “He
seems like a regular guy, very relatable and humble. I kinda compare him to
Lamar Odom, not skill-wise but likability. There’s just something that makes
you want to root for them.”
“我让他在西区最厉害的家伙们头上灌篮是因为我们现在是西区第一，另外这表示你不用
一定得要给球队带来什么才值得被认识。他就像一个普通人一样，跟我们很像而且很谦虚
。我会说他就跟Lamar Odom一样，没有非常炫丽的技巧但是很让人喜欢，就是让你情不自
禁想要为他们加油。”
There’s no denying Caruso, who said he initially thought it was a joke when
he learned about the honor, has become a fan favorite at Staples Center. When
he enters the game, the cheers rival those received by the team’s two
all-world players, and when he heads back to the bench his efforts do not go
unrecognized.
卡秃没有否认这件事，当他一开始听说他已经变成整个Staples Center最受欢迎的球员时
，他觉得大家只是在开他玩笑而已。当他踏上球场的时候，他获得的欢呼声可以媲美队上
另外两位巨星，而当他回到板凳休息时他的努力也都不会被忽略掉。
It’s not unusual for a championship-caliber team to have a de facto mascot
that fans adore. But those guys are usually running around hustling at the
end of games that have been decided. Caruso entered the game with 25.5
seconds left and the Lakers up six against the Phoenix Suns. He was in the
game against the Sacramento Kings with 5.5 seconds left and the Lakers
clinging to a 97-95 lead. He entered Friday’s game with 23.6 seconds
remaining and the Lakers up 126-123 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
在冠军级别的队伍中有个讨人喜爱的吉祥物球员并不少见，但通常那些家伙只会在垃圾时
间才被放上场跑跑龙套。而卡秃在太阳战剩下25.5秒上场的时候，湖人只领先6分。对阵
国王剩下5.5秒上场时，湖人才只以97-95领先2分。礼拜五打雷霆终场前23.6秒他上场时
，湖人更是126-123只领先3分。
Mascots are not crunch-time fixtures. They do not average 20 minutes a game,
knock down big threes or catch bodies at the rim. And they certainly don’t
do all of that while looking like a middle school teacher.
吉祥物不会在紧要关头被放上场。他们不会平均一场比赛被放上去打20分钟、投进大号三
分球或是在别人头上灌篮。他们真的不会做那些事，尤其当他们外表看起来只是个中学老
师的时候。
“I’ve had thin hair almost my entire life,” Caruso said, smiling. “I used
to have facial hair but my girlfriend doesn’t like it, so I try to stay
clean-shaven. But who knows, I may go full Rick Ross one day.”
“我头发一直都这么少啊，我以前还留过胡子可是我女朋友不喜欢，所以我只能把他们刮
干净。不过搞不好有一天我会弄得跟Rick Ross一样，谁晓得？”
(可是我说卡秃…Rick Ross除了光头造型以外，发量看起来还不少耶…)
In many ways he already has, considering the rapper’s first single was
called “Hustlin’.”
就很多方面而言，其实他也跟Rick Ross相去不远了，譬如说这位饶舌歌手的首张单曲“
Hustlin’.”
(我猜应该是跟歌词有关？ ” Everyday I'm hustlin' ”)
Although the 6-foot-5 guard graduated from Texas A&M as the school’s career
leader in assists and steals, he went undrafted and ended up playing in the
2016 Summer League for the Philadelphia 76ers. He was signed by the Thunder
in late September but was waived three weeks later after the team acquired
Reggie Williams. A short time after that, he was picked up by the Thunder’s
G-League team, but the following year again found himself without a home.
虽然这个从Texas A&M毕业，身高6呎5的后卫是该校的助攻及抄截纪录保持人，他还是没
有在选秀会上被挑走，最终只帮76人打完2016年的夏季联盟就被丢掉。接着他在九月底被
雷霆签下，但三个礼拜后雷霆得到了Reggie Williams，所以他又被丢掉。没多久之后他
被雷霆的G-League team捡走，不过隔年他再度被丢掉。
That’s when the Lakers picked him up for the 2017 Summer League, the one
that featured rookies Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma. While Ball and
Kuzma grabbed the fans’ attention, Caruso played well enough to catch the
eye of team executives who signed him to a two-way contract.
当湖人在2017年夏季联盟签下他的同时，队上还有当年闪耀的新秀们(老爸超级嘴的)球哥
、(没人要跟他击掌的)小哈以及(大肠面)Kuz。就当球哥跟Kuz抓住所有球迷的注意力时，
卡秃因为打得够好吸引了高层注意而签下了一份双向合约。
“When I got called up I thought I had made it,” he said about playing in
his first game in 2017. “I loved everything about being in the NBA and
wanted to stay, but it didn’t work out that way. It was frustrating but I
tried to stay focused on the things I could control.
“当我被call上一军的时候，我想说我终于办到了，”卡秃提起他在2017年的第一场比赛
。“我爱死了NBA的一切，想尽办法都要留下来，可是没有用，我还是被丢回去了。那很
令人沮丧，不过我开始试着专注在那些我可以掌控的事情上。”
“I grew up with a religious background. As I’ve gotten older and met so
many people, I’ve come to believe everything happens for a reason. There are
no coincidences. There’s a reason I went back to the G-League and I ended up
growing and improving myself mentally and physically. When I got my chance to
play more minutes at the end of last season, I was able to show how much I
grew. … It all worked out.”
“我在一个虔诚的家庭长大，当我年纪增长、遇见许多人之后，我开始相信事出必有因，
没有巧合这种事。我会回去G-League不会没有理由的，但终究我在心理跟生理方面都有了
十足的成长与改进。当我在上个季末得到了机会能够有更多上场时间，我就能够表现出我
有多少长进…这全都要归功于锻炼！”
Metta World Peace was at the final practice before the team embarked on its
current four-game road trip. When he saw Caruso, he walked over, gave him a
bro hug and said, “You’re killing it.”
“I’m so happy for him,” Metta said. “He worked so hard and it’s paying
off. He would have made more money playing overseas but he stayed here in the
G-League, worked his tail off and now he’s played himself into getting at
least a couple of contracts.”
窝屁在球队准备要出发去打客场四连战的最后一次练习中看到了卡秃，然后他走了过去给
了卡秃一个兄弟式的拥抱并对他说：“干得好！”
窝屁表示“我很替他高兴，他非常努力而且有了回报。他本可以去海外打球赚更多钱的，
可是他却留在G-League当拼命三郎，然后他现在可以挣得好几份(NBA)合约了。”
Last April, the G-League announced it was increasing base salaries to $7,000
per month. NBA two-way players like Caruso were set to earn $77,250, “
prorated for days spent on an NBA G-League roster, and the NBA rookie minimum
salary, prorated for the days with their NBA team, for maximum potential
earnings of $385,000 next season.” This summer Caruso signed a two-year deal
worth $5.5 million.
去年四月G-League宣布，球员基本薪资将调涨到月薪7,000美元，像卡秃一样有NBA双向合
约的球员则可以拿到77,250美元。这将由你待在NBA G-League球员名单中、NBA 菜鸟最低
薪资以及你待在NBA球队里的天数依照比例进行分配，下个球季最多可以拿到385,000美元
。而卡秃在这个夏天就签到了一份价值550万美元的两年合约。
When I pulled into the lot to take a look at his mural, a car rolled in soon
thereafter. A couple of guys jumped out and began taking selfies next to it.
David Ramirez and his brother Diego said they were driving down the street
when the giant Caruso caught their eye.
“This is so cool,” David said. “He looks like just a guy, you know, but he
’s out there balling. Like I know he’s in the NBA but he doesn’t look like
a NBA player. … It’s just so cool.
当我正要好好的欣赏这幅卡秃的壁画时，一辆车子开了过来，几个家伙跳下车然后开始跟
壁画自拍。David Ramirez 还有他兄弟Diego说他们正开车在街上晃，然后这个巨大的卡
秃吸引了他们。
“这超酷的，他看起来就只是个平凡人，可是他却在那里打球耶。我知道他是NBA球员可
是他看起来就不像啊…超酷的！”David说。
That element to his story — he doesn’t look the part — is what catches
eyeballs and inspire memes and nicknames like “Bald Mamba,” which is really
curious considering Bryant was bald when his “Black Mamba” moniker became
popular. But when you consider Caruso’s journey from second team
All-Southeastern Conference to two G-League teams to three summer leagues,
and now on the floor in crunch time for a team that’s a favorite to win the
NBA title, his looks are perhaps the least interesting thing about him.
有关卡秃这个人…他看起来就不是那种会吸引人注意或是什么心灵鸡汤型的球员，而且外
号还叫‘秃曼巴’，不禁让人好奇回想当Kobe的‘黑曼巴’绰号开始流行的时候他是不是
也秃了。但当你回想卡秃一路以来的历程，从NCAA全美东南区第二队到两支G-League队伍
再到三次的夏季联盟，然后现在成为一个能在关键时刻上场的球队新宠儿，而这支队伍搞
不好还会赢得NBA总冠军，他的长相可能是他这个人最不吸引人的地方。
“I was listening to a podcast — it might’ve been Joe Rogan’s — and they
were talking about fear,” Caruso said. “One of the first things that
happens with anxiety and fear is that it impacts muscle memory. You might be
really good at something, but as soon as you introduce anxiety you lose that
natural instinct. So when I’m out there on the court I try not to think too
much and just play ball. I’ve been playing my whole life, I love the game,
so I try not to think about being in the NBA or playing in Staples. I just
play.”
卡秃说：“我当时正在听podcast，有可能是Joe Rogan的节目，他们正在谈论‘恐惧’，
其中一件可能会伴随着焦虑或恐惧发生在你身上的事，就是它会影响你的肌肉记忆。你可
能对某件事情非常在行，但当你感到焦虑时你会失去本能反应。所以当我在场上的时候，
我就是试着不要想太多，就是好好打球。我大半辈子都在打球，我喜欢比赛，所以我试着
不要去想我正在NBA或是正在Staples Center里打球这件事。就是专心打球。”
Like he’s right where he belongs.
就像他现在正在做的事一样